FARMS Review Volume 22 Issue Number 1 Editor's Introduction: A Tidy Garden by: Louis Midgley, xi-xxvii Basic New Perspectives on the Sermon on the Mount by: George L. Mitton, 1-4 A review of "The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple" by: John W. Welch From the Preface to The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple by: John W. Welch, 5-10 A Unique Approach to the Sermon on the Mount by: Gaye Strathearn, 11-16 A review of "The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple" by: John W. Welch Often in Error, Seldom in Doubt: Rod Meldrum and Book of Mormon DNA by: Gregory L. Smith, 17-161 A review of "Rediscovering the Book of Mormon Remnant through DNA" by: Rod L. Meldrum Understanding the Book of Mormon? He "Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks" by: Ben McGuire, 163-180 A review of "Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Quick Christian Guide to the Mormon Holy Book" by: Ross Anderson On Not Understanding the Book of Mormon by: Robert Boylan, 181-189 A review of "Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Quick Christian Guide to the Mormon Holy Book" by: Ross Anderson The Book of Mormon and the Origin of Native Americans from a Maternally Inherited DNA Standpoint by: Ugo A. Perego, 191-227 Prospering in the Land of Promise by: Steven L. Olsen, 229-245 The Grace of Christ by: John Gee, 247-259 Was Joseph Smith Guilty of Plagiarism? by: John A. Tvedtnes, 261-275 Book Notes, 277-292 About the Contributors, 293-295

The FARMS Review, Volume 22 Number 1 (2010)

The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies

Neal A. Maxwell Institute

"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents. . ." So begins the first book in the Book of Mormon, as the prophet Nephi brings us through the wilderness to a promised land where his family fractures rather than flourishes. But in spite of that tragedy, Nephi points us to the hope he found in his father's inspired dream for the future. Driven by his father's fears and faith, he sought and received his own revelations about how his people might someday find redemption and might ultimately help bring about the redemption of Israel and the entire human family. In this brief theological introduction, philosopher and theologian Joseph M. Spencer investigates the central themes and purposes of a book he calls a "theological masterpiece." What was Nephi trying to accomplish with his writings? How can readers today make better sense of Nephi's words? What can an ancient seer offer readers in the twenty-first century? Spencer introduces a Nephi for our moment, a complex prophet with an urgent message for a world in turmoil.

1st Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction

Spencer, Joseph

Religion & Spirituality

"I have seen a vision, in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed . . ." In the wake of epic cataclysm, Nephi launches a second book of writings. Inspired by the prophet Isaiah s remarkable account of the scattering and gathering of God s covenant people, Nephi aches to reassure his family by providing a clear understanding of their unbroken place in God s designs. Interweaving history, theology, and prophecy, Nephi brings together the covenant s ancient roots and its future fulfillment, orienting everything around the person of Jesus Christ. In this brief theological introduction, Terryl Givens echoes Nephi s invitation for readers to keep Christ front and center in their minds, hearts, and wor&#131;&#130;&#130;ship. Givens finds clear emphasis on the Redeemer s healing atonement, the promise of resurrection, the necessity of oppositional strife and of agency wisely employed, and other plain and precious truths lost or obscured by time. Above all, Nephi presents essential elements of the doctrine of

2nd Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction

Givens, Terryl

"What could I have done more for my vineyard?" In one of the Book of Mormon s most magisterial passages, the lord of a vineyard looks over his beloved olive trees with great sorrow and strives to redeem them. This allegory represents Jesus Christ s labor to save not only individual souls but an entire world. Perhaps more than any other Book of Mormon prophet, Jacob manifests the same divine anxiety, having been born in a wild wilderness and inheriting the task of uniting a divided people. In this brief theological introduction, Deidre Nicole Green presents Jacob as a vulnerable and empathic religious leader deeply concerned about social justice. As a teacher consecrated by his brother Nephi, Jacob insists on continuity between religious and social life. His personal experiences of suffering, his compassion for those in society s margins, and his concern for equality are inseparable from his testimony of Jesus Christ. Because of Christ, Jacob lovingly and mournfully seeks to nurture a f

Jacob: A Brief Theological Introduction

Green, Deidre

A brief theological introduction to the books of Enos, Jacob, and Omni in the Book of Mormon.

Enos, Jarom, Omni: A Brief Theological Introduction

Harris, Sharon J.

About the Author\nRosalynde Frandsen Welch is an independent scholar of Latter-day Saint literature and theology. She earned a PhD in early modern English literature from the University of California at San Diego. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on Latter-day Saint scripture, culture, and theology. She has served as a codirector of the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminary and as associate editor at the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.\nAnd this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God that ye may repent. Following the destruction of the Nephite people, Moroni works in solitude to complete a long-promised translation of an ancient record: the Jaredite plates. Discovered amid the ruins of a lost civilization, this record has captivated Nephites imaginations for centuries. Now Moroni sees foreshadowed therein the spiritual wonders and historical tragedies of his own people. In this brief theological introduction, literary scholar Rosalynde Frandsen Welch explores the book of Ether a sweeping history in which Moroni, absorbed in the past, turns his heart to future readers whose spiritual fate will be at stake. According to Welch, Moroni s work as translator-prophet brilliantly reframes the nature of scripture itself. Like the brother of Jared s luminous stones, Moroni s offering glows with his powerful testimony of Christ. In faith, his record extends the promise of Christ s saving power to people in every place and time.

Ether

Welch, Rosalynde

And now Father, I pray unto thee for them . . . that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one. 
Generations of prophecy are fulfilled when Jesus Christ visits the people of the Book of Mormon following his crucifixion and resurrection. In his short time among these other sheep, Christ teaches about the path of discipleship, inaugurating a centuries-long period of righteous peace and prosperity in Nephite society. 
In this brief theological introduction, Daniel Becerra enlists 3 and 4 Nephi as aids in the disciple s pursuit of Christ and Christlikeness. What do these books reveal about divine nature, human nature, and the means of bridging the gap between the two? 
Becerra places Christ at the center of all theological thinking in his interpretation of these remarkable books of scripture. He proposes that the fullest expression of discipleship Christlikeness can only be found in community and collaboration.

3rd, 4th Nephi

Becerra, Daniel

About the Author\nKimberly Matheson Berkey is a doctoral student in theology at Loyola University Chicago, where she studies the philosophy of religion. She serves on the boards of the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar and the Book of Mormon Studies Association and has contributed several articles to the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.\n“They cast their eyes as if to behold from whence the voice came.” 
The Book of Helaman marks a dramatic reversal. The spiritual tables turn. While the Lamanites righteously cast their eyes toward heaven, the Nephites take their first steps toward a surprising precipice where final destruction awaits. 
In this brief theological introduction, Kimberly Matheson Berkey underscores an often unnoticed theme that plays throughout the book of Helaman — a book she calls “a masterclass in sight.” What does this history teach us about visibility? What is the spiritual threat behind secret combinations? What can the eyesight of the Lamanites show readers about their own religious journeys? 
Berkey takes us chapter by chapter through the book of Helaman, identifying how much remains to be discovered in this slim record. On each page she invites us to become more aware of the hidden and often overlooked things that shape our lives as disciples of Christ.

Helaman

Berkey, Kimberly Matheson

About the Author\nMark Wrathall is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford, and Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at Corpus Christi College. He works on the phenomenology of agency and religious life, and is interested in the temporality of human existence. He is the author of Phenomenology and Human Existence (forthcoming with Oxford University Press), Heidegger and Unconcealment (Cambridge University Press), and How to Read Heidegger (W. W. Norton). He has edited numerous volumes, including The Cambridge Heidegger Lexicon and Religion After Metaphysics.\n"Now is the time and the day of your salvation . . ." 
Alma the Younger is forever changed by an overwhelming personal experience with God s mercy a mercy capable of overpowering justice and giving Alma the means to exercise faith unto repentance. Driven by his new desire to share the joy that God s mercy brings, Alma confronts the apostate Korihor, preaches a sermon on faith to the Zoramite outcasts, and encourages and consoles his sons. His ministry cannot be understood apart from the miraculous transformation initiated and powered by God s mercy. 
In this brief introduction to the second half of the book of Alma, philosopher Mark Wrathall painstakingly works out the logic of Alma s understanding of faith, justice, mercy, and the final judgment and restoration of all things, encouraging readers to receive salvation today.

Alma 30-63

Wrathall, Mark A.

". . . that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth." 
Alma is an idolatrous man until an angel s rebuke leads to repentance and two decades of righteous service in realms both political and religious. But Alma s past haunts him. He abdicates political power in order to focus more fully on his ministry. When war against Nephite dissenters shatters the community, he laments. 
In this brief theological introduction to the first twenty-nine chapters of the book of Alma, literary scholar Kylie Nielson Turley considers how Alma s profound transformation from anti-Christ to high priest of the church of God can deepen our understanding of Christ s mercy. What if God forgives and forgets but humans do not? Does following God ensure a less painful life? Is it faithless to mourn, question, or cry out when beset by sin, violence, or death? 
Turley foregrounds Alma as a man who sinned grievously and who was grievously sinned against, a man who found hope and healing in the darkest abyss, a man whose words offer hope and healing to a burdened world.

Alma 1-29

Turley, Kylie Nielson

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